Paedophile children’s entertainer took fellow pervert into school with him ‘to watch him work with kids’

Mark Whincup, known as Magic Mark, was a crystal meth addict whose computer stored what a judge described as ‘some of the most depraved child images imaginable’

A disgraced children’s entertainer and magician has been jailed after being caught with some of the most depraved child images imaginable, a court heard today.

Mark Whincup, 51, a well-known North Wales entertainer known as Magic Mark, cried throughout most of the sentencing hearing as the court heard how he had taken a similarly perverted American friend into schools with him.

A judge said that one image in particular on his computer was “stomach churning”.

Mold Crown Court heard that police found 121 pornographic images and 748 films, together with 10 “extreme” indecent images involving animals on computer equipment in the attic of his home.

Prosecutor David Mainstone described the attic as an “S&M dungeon” complete with sex toys, bondage equipment, computers and a camcorder.

His vile double life saw him addicted to crystal meth – while being employed by the drugs agency CAIS to lecture children about the dangers of drugs.

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Hearing: Mark Whincup was found guilty at Mold Crown Court

Police who seized the material from his home in Rhos-on-Sea found films of him having sex with two other men and injecting them with the Class A drug.

He also took part in computer video conferencing with two other men as he distributed perverted images.

And the court heard how he even took a like-minded man from the US to schools, passing him off as work experience, for the American to watch him working with children.

Sick: He admitted distributed images over Skype and other media

But it was stressed that, while the case would send shockwaves among parents, he had not offended against any of the children he had come into contact with.

He admitted making indecent images and films by downloading them from the internet, distributing some of them via Skype and other media, and supplying crystal meth.

Mark Whincup after being taken into custody

Judge Rhys Rowlands jailed Whincup, of Ebberston Road East, Rhos-on-Sea, Colwyn Bay, for two years, ordered him to register as a sex offender for 10 years and made him subject to a 10-year Sex Offender Prevention Order.

“This was depraved behaviour on your part. You repeatedly sought out dreadful images, stored them and distributed them, and you shared class A drugs with others while doing so,” he said.

Whincup appeared in local pantomimes and gave magic displays at children’s birthday parties, and schools.